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How to change an Italian mind

Hello guys,
first of all this forum is awesome and really usefull, many thanks for your great job.

I'm from Italy and I know my English skills are kinda poor, but somehow i can manage conversation with people from a lot of countries since i work in a cruise ship.
Lately i had to speak with English/American people and i saw all the weakness of my speeches.

I hate that when i try to speak English my brain first elaborate the sentence in Italian and then it translates word by word.
It might works sometimes, but i do believe it sounds really funny (or horrible :) ) to a native English speaker.

How can i change this attitude? I'm trying by reading books, watching movies or youtube's video in English but so far nothing changed.

Re: How to change an Italian mind

Try finding a an English language tutor.
Then you have someone to talk to who will correst your mistakes so you won't make them again and again.
You'd have to pay for this kind of service, but if your own service improves because of it, it might just be worth it.
(that's what I've recently started to do, not so much give English language lessons, but I offer people the opportunity to talk to someone who will help them improve their language skills instead of laughing at them)
There is no substitute for actually talking to real people.
As they say:"Practice makes perfect"

Peter
(I'm not a teacher or a native English speaker. I'm just trying to help...)

Re: How to change an Italian mind

How long have you been working on the ship? It can take time to move your approach into your second language and to stop translating. After you talk to someone, run through the conversation again in your head and try to work out ways of saying it more naturally in English. For example, we don't use elaborate in the way you have in English, so check out the meaning and find a better word, then use it.